Corsair Neutron Series 240GB SSD Review

Corsair innovates as the first company to market a consumer LAMD controlled SSD. While the Corsair line currently utilizes both of the highest performing controllers on the market, the new LAMD controller has generated more than its fair share of interest, so we take a look and see how the newest entrant to the SSD realm fares.

Corsair Neutron Basics

Corsair continues expansion of its top end SSD series with the Neutron SSD lineup. These new SSDs come packing a new LAMD (Link_A_Media) controller that boasts impressive specifications. Today we are testing the Neutron with its IMFT 25nm NAND, and we will also be testing the faster Neutron GTX in the coming week, which is much the same but incorporates 24nm Toggle NAND.

Corsair is certainly not bias when it comes to picking hardware components, focusing on giving its customers the best performance regardless of what vendor used to deliver an edge. Corsair’s approach to the SSD game has held true over time, it was selling SSDs outfitted with Samsung controllers long before those became popular. Indillinx, Marvell, and SandForce have also made rounds through the Corsair product line.

The current top two performers for Corsair come in the SandForce and Marvell controlled SSDs, but Corsair looks to make a change with a huge leap to a new controller that hasn't been introduced into the wild as of yet, the LAMD "Amber" LM87800.

The ultimate goal for SSD manufacturers is to have an exclusive type of controller that competitors simply do not possess, and if that controller brings groundbreaking performance that sets it apart from the crowd, all the better. Corsair recently paired up with Link_A_Media, which is involved in HDD controllers and also SSD controllers for the Seagate Pulsar line of enterprise SSDs, to deliver the Amber LM87800 exclusively to Corsair.

As SSDs become more mainstream, some of the focus has shifted from having the fastest bleeding edge specifications to the reliability of the device itself. All of the speed in the world isn't worth anything if the SSD loses the users precious data.

Link_A_Media has been developing and delivering drive controllers for 8 years. Its previous SSD dealings have been in the enterprise space, where reliability and sustained long-term performance are the keys to success. This background does bring with it confidence in the engineering and firmware that goes into producing controllers, and lessens the risk that Corsair assumes with launching a new controller.

There have been some notable problems with new SSD controllers upon launch over the years, so having the right team and experience is essential to the success of any new product. Link_A_Media has garnered enough attention and respect that it was recently acquired by Hynix, the second largest manufacturer of memory semiconductors in the world. Luckily for Corsair, a period of exclusivity was locked in before the purchase.

This leaves us, the consumer, with what should purportedly be a very reliable SSD with enterprise-class endurance enhancing features baked in to the firmware. A five year warranty is among the best offered for consumer SSDs, and the LAMD "Amber" also sports some of the best overall specifications available on the market.